The largest cannabis growers are staffing up in preparation for the opening of Canada's legal marijuana market on Wednesday.
Aurora Cannabis, the third-largest Canadian cannabis grower by market cap, has a whopping 11 pages of job openings on its website.
These positions are based across Canada and range from high-level executive positions to laboratory research positions and industrial cleaners.
The positions include:
- Manager of international partnerships
- Data management specialist
- Junior plant scientist
- Government relations manager
- Online editorial manager
Aurora has been on an acquisition spree of late, buying its rival MedReleaf in a $2.3 billion stock transaction in May, among other notable deals.
Cam Battley, Aurora's chief corporate officer, told Business Insider in a May interview that the company was moving at the "speed of Aurora."
"We're operating based on a very clear strategic plan that calls for both organic growth and growth by M&A, and for all of that to happen incredibly quickly," Battley said. "And no exaggeration, the entire management team works seven days a week."
Legal Canadian growers are known as licensed producers. Canopy Growth, which with a $14 billion market cap is the largest Canadian LP, also has lots of openings as varied as electrical-engineering roles and mobile-app developers.
Tilray, the second-largest LP, has openings in areas like business development, marketing, and quality assurance.
It's a clear sign the cannabis industry is maturing as major companies seek to build out expertise amid increasing competition.
The number of job openings in the US cannabis industry is set to grow by 220%
It's also a great time to be a job seeker in the cannabis industry.
Vangst, a recruiting company for the industry, estimates that the number of job openings in the US cannabis sector will grow by 220% in 2019.
The total number of job postings for the cannabis industry increased by 445% in 2017, according to ZipRecruiter, an online job platform. There are now more cannabis workers than dental hygienists in the US. At the same time, average salaries increased 16% from 2017 to 2018, according to Vangst.
Paul Rosen, the CEO of the Toronto-based Tidal Royalty, told Business Insider in a recent interview that he preferred to hire from "outside the cannabis industry."
"I'm looking for people with skill sets in areas like consumer packaged goods, biotech, and investment banking," Rosen said. "That's ultimately what this industry needs."
That's already happening, as executives from established industries take roles in the cannabis sector.
CannTrust Holdings, a Canadian producer of medical marijuana, announced on Tuesday morning that Peter Aceto, the former CEO of Tangerine (formerly ING Direct), would take over as CEO.
"The opportunities that lie ahead are limitless," Aceto said in a statement.
In the US, prominent former politicians such as John Boehner and Bill Weld have joined the board of Acreage Holdings, a US-based marijuana producer, while MedMen has added Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, to its board.
And former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced he was joining the board of Acreage as well.
